The Air Force Research Lab has issued a broad agency announcement seeking concepts for a new Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft that will “break current paradigms of vehicle cost as related to weight” for a new tactical airlifter. AFRL wants proposals by March 8 that offer “innovative structural configurations and concepts.” (The lab actually first issued this BAA in December, but cancelled it and reissued this week.) The emphasis, according to the BAA, is on design and manufacturing technologies that would “significantly reduce” weight and cost. The Air Force expects to make up to three awards for detailed designs in Phase 1 by April 20, and go on to select one design by Oct. 1 for the Phase 2 fabrication and demonstration of the flight demonstrator.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
